


Fallen Kingdom

by mossdehart



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Creativitwins, Happy Ending?, Implied Character Death, Intrusive Thoughts, Remus angst, Roman Angst, The Imagination, Ya boy ducks out, creaivitwins angst really, wink - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-05 03:11:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21206447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mossdehart/pseuds/mossdehart
Summary: Roman arrived at the ruins of a once grand castle, bouquet of roses in hand.“Hello? I’m back. I missed you. No... I miss you.”





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> slight warning for some minor intrusive thoughts (suicide mention, allusions to incest ((this def isn’t remrom tho)), sexual innuendo)

Roman sunk out of Thomas’s living room, popping up in the living room of the Mindscape. He let out a soft sigh, reaching up and pulling his fingers through his hair a few times, looking around. He was the first to sink out, so the others must still be wrapping up the video. 

Thomas has a small dilemma that he had needed a hand with. It wasn’t anything very significant, but Thomas was still anxious about it anyway. They eventually realized that he was just stressed out. Mary Lee and Lee’s wedding was this weekend, and Thomas was still pretty... nervous about it. Dreading it. Roman bit his tongue when the subject came up. There was nothing that he could do to change their decision now, and the others would get upset if he started an argument about it. 

Before the other sides could show up and see him, Roman quickly headed towards the stairs, making his way up to his bedroom. The small hallway upstairs only had four doors; all colour coded with their respective owners names on them. Roman’s door was bright red, with his name near the top in bright, gold lettering. There was also a golden star above his name, and some small white sparkles sprinkled around for good measure. 

Roman grabbed onto the shiny, white handle, hesitating when he heard noise coming from downstairs. He could hear Patton and Logan’s muffled voices coming from the living room, and frowned. He twisted the handle and pushed the door open. He didn’t need to take a step forward, a bright light flashing in front of him as he was sucked into the Imagination. 

As Roman’s vision finally adjusted, he found himself standing on a bridge. He was standing on a wooden drawbridge, right in front of what he immediately recognized to be his castle. Roman frowned, blinking and glancing around. That couldn’t be right. This isn’t where he meant to go. 

Roman could of just teleported where he was trying to go. The imagination was his world; he could do and go wherever he pleased. Well.. almost anywhere he wanted. 

But, Roman trusted his room, and instead decided to walk. That was probably a good idea. A nice, long, walk to clear his mind. 

Roman took a deep breath, taking in the beautiful, fresh air, before he began heading down the dirt path in front of him, leading him away from his castle, and down a long path. From this height, Roman could see much of his world. He could see the nearby village, and the dense forest surrounding it. He could see rivers and lakes, rolling hills and mountain peaks. It was beautiful. Roman had put years of work into making it that way; he planted every tree, every flower, built every house. 

The place where Roman was headed was pretty far away, but it stood out so much that you couldn’t miss it. The castle sat right next to a tall cliff, his largest river looping around the base of the cliff, and ending up in a spring, where a waterfall fell from the top of the cliff. The castle itself looked.. odd. The one time that Virgil had come here, he had asked if it was still under construction. Roman had told him yes; it was a lie, but it was the easiest thing for him to do in that situation. 

Roman kept a slow pace, smiling as he ran his fingers along the branches of trees growing along his wooded path. He had made this walk so many times; he could do it with his eyes closed if he needed to. 

The journey was fairly long, but Roman barley noticed the minutes passing. Time worked differently in the imagination anyways, so he could never be sure how much time had passed in the outside world. It could have been ten minutes, or over an hour. Sorry for all the daydreaming, Thomas. Hopefully that will distract you from your troubles. 

Eventually, Roman arrived at his destination. He exited the wooded path and began to scale the large hill that this castle stood upon, the pebbled pathway surrounded by large, red rose bushes. Roman actually stopped for a moment to pick a few. It would be a nice gift. 

The castle stood before Roman. It looked so much... sadder, from close up. The stone walls were crumbling, covered in vines and moss. It didn’t have a roof anymore, and only one of the tall towers were still standing. It had only been abandoned for about 20 years, and you’d think by looking at it that it had been... so much longer. 

Roman approached the splintering wooden doors, tugging one of them open by the rusted handle. It opened slightly with a harsh scratching noise and a few squeaks, enough for Roman to slip inside. 

The inside of the castle was no better than the outside. The floor was still littered with debris and dust, and all of the paintings and furniture were either broken by the building’s collapse, or destroyed by the weather. Other than this, the general layout of the building could still be understood. There was a long hallway, leading to a staircase, which led to the throne room. There was the right and left wings of the castle, which could be mostly seen through the crumbling walls and large windows. And there were still quite a few rooms that was mostly intact, locked up tight and unexplored. Roman never bothered with them. 

“Hello. I’m back.” Roman announced, hearing a very slight echo. He held the bundle of roses in both hands, taking a quick look around before he began walking forward, down the sun-bleached red carpet. 

“I missed you.” Roman smiled, then hesitated, pausing for a moment to swallow. He took a small glance at a large portrait to his left, then began walking again. “No.. I miss you.” 

Roman continues to speak as he makes his way down this hall. Not to someone else in the barren castle, but not exactly to himself either. 

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I’m terribly sorry that I haven’t visited much lately, I... I’ve just been rather busy. Things have been hectic lately, what with work, and having to fly out tomorrow to attend Lee and Mary Lee’s wedding. And lately, the dark sides have just been... well, never mind that, I’m sure you’re tired of hearing me complain every time I come here, I just don’t know who else to talk to about these things. The others rarely take my side on anything these days. It can be very frustrating.”

“Anyway, have you been well? I hope you haven’t been lonely, I try to get the animals to come up here and visit you, but...” Roman trailed off. No animals in Roman’s entire kingdom wanted to be anywhere near this castle. Few were brave enough to set foot on the hill itself. Roman pretended that he had no idea why. 

“I’ve tried to talk about you to the other Sides, you know? I know I always say that I’m going to try to; but I actually have been. I’ve actually tried with Patton quite a few times in the past, but, ah... it’s never gone all that great. And this time was not exactly an exception. 

Roman hurried up the steps, the throne only about twenty feet in front of him. Unlike most of the furniture in the castle, the throne was fairly well preserved. The section of roof above this end of the castle hadn’t completely collapsed yet, leaving this throne mostly unscathed. The seat was made for a fairly large person, and was bright red. The red of the throne was bright silver, and seeing it made Roman smiled. 

He slowed his steps once he had reached the top of the stairs, his eyes on the throne. “Patton.. Patton does what he always does. Whenever I try to bring you up, in any sort of sense, he changes the subject. He ignores it. He ignores me. I try to pretend that it doesn’t bother me, I don’t press him. We... we all have different ways of grieving, I suppose.”

Roman stopped a few feet in front of the throne, getting down on one knee and laying the roses down. 

“I think you’re the only one of them that truly understands.” He whispered, closing his eyes and taking a slow breath. 

Roman felt a slight breeze against the back of his neck. His eyes snapped open and he turned as quickly as he could, but of course, no one was there. It was just... his imagination. 

He scowled, pushing himself back up to his feet, facing away from the throne. “I feel like I’m going mad, just standing here talking to myself like this, you know. Though even if you never respond, I don’t think I’ll ever stop. And I may go mad anyways. Things haven’t been great lately. I normally wouldn’t talk ill of my friends, at least not to you, but they can be... infuriating.”

“Sometimes I feel like Patton wants everyone to forget about you. Especially me. I feel like as if... Patton just wishes that you never existed. Maybe then he would be happy with me. Then maybe I’d be able to just do my job. Patton wants me to just smile and do what I’m told, pretending to be happy, like he does.” 

It took Roman a few moments to register the anger in his voice, but when he did, it made him stop. “I don’t... I don’t mean that, I’m sorry. Patton... we’ve talked enough about him.” He muttered, but this didn’t make him feel any calmer. Anger bubbled in the pit of Roman’s stomach, and he started to pace in front of the throne. 

“There’s... there’s also Logan I know that Logan never liked us, but he doesn’t have to be.. so cold. He wants to talk about you almost less than Patton. And Virgil? I don’t think you had a poor relationship with him. Did you— did we? I only tried to bring you up around him once, and he was so clearly uncomfortable. He didn’t speak to me at all that day afterwards.”

“What would they say if I told them that I was coming here all the time? I wouldn’t even know where to begin imagining that.” Roman chuckled, stopping to stare down at the floor. “Things with the others... they’re my family, and I care for them very much, but things haven’t been the same lately. I feel so distant from them. I wish I could bring them here. That would be... so lovely..” he whispered, swallowing a lump in his throat. The tone of his words had gone from anger to sadness very quickly. Roman wasn’t sure what he was feeling anymore; and he certainly wasn’t thinking through the words he was saying. 

“This would be so much easier if I could just talk to you about this. I wish I could just... oh.” Roman looked up from the floor, turning back to face the throne. Then he snapped his fingers. 

Red mist swirled around the throne for a moment, then slowly came together in the shape of the person. Then the mist vanished, leaving a man in its place. 

King Creativity sat upon his throne. He looked just as Roman imagined him in his mind. He had long brown hair, and a thick beard; he had kind eyes, and wore a intricately make red and silver robe. He wore a gleaming crown atop his head, with bright red crystals. 

But.. he wasn’t exactly like Roman wanted. The king sat on the throne, eyes on Roman, as still as a statue. He didn’t speak, and his expression never changed. 

He wasn’t really the king. He wasn’t alive. Roman knee this, he did, but... even just seeing him stirred up more emotions in Roman that he knew how to handle. Roman’s eyes widened, and he moved a hand to cover his mouth, stumbling backwards a few steps. Tears began spilling down his face, but Roman didn’t move to wipe them away like he would usually do around others. 

Roman can’t bring himself to make this illusion of his king disappear, and begins to pour his heart out to him. He drops to his knees, sniffling and taking a deep breath. 

“I... I don’t know what to do anymore. I feel so lost, and... alone. My family doesn’t understand, and doesn’t want to understand. They weren’t a part of you like I was.” His face softens for a moment, and he looks up at the ceiling. “Remus does. He would understand. But I... I’m not sure how I feel about Remus anymore. We were close, after the split, but over the years.... I’ve ruined things with him. He thinks I despise him. And maybe I do. But... no, I don’t. Not completely, anyway. I sure do miss him. Being his brother. Being.. being you.” 

Roman looks up at the illusion of the king, hoping for any sort of response. Anything. It doesn’t surprise him when he gets no response, but it still hurts. He just scoffs, waving the hand and watching as the illusion faded away, back into coloured mist.

The sadness and anger that this place was making Roman feel was overwhelming. He leaned forward, pressing his hands into the floor of cracked stone. He began trembling as he cried harder, reaching out hand up and covering his mouth again to quiet his sobs. Roman wanted to just collapse down on the floor and rest. 

He was about to do this, when a door popped into existence a few feet to the side of Roman. It was his door, bright red and covered in sparkles, which severely clashed with the grim, depressing abandoned castle aesthetic. 

Someone was knocking on the other side of the door, and the sudden noise made Roman jumble slightly. 

“Roman? Kiddo? Virge and I just finished making dinner, come and join us whenever you’re ready!” Patton chirped. He waited outside the door for a few seconds, waiting for a response. When he got none, due to Roman being frozen and not wanting Patton to see him in this state, he started to walk away. 

Roman sighed in relief, then lifted up a hand. A large, golden key appeared in front of the lock of Roman’s door, then pushed into the lock and turned before disappearing. 

Patton turned his back and headed back to the dining room, not noticing as the door to Roman’s room began to fade away behind him. 

Roman took a few seconds before slowly climbing back up to his feet, watching his door disappear. He noticed that far behind that door, there was a large section of wall that crumbled, which led into the king’s old garden. 

“Why, I forgot... I haven’t been out there in ages..” he whispered to himself, slowly making his way over and climbing into the outside. He began to walk through knee length grass, towards the back of the castle. 

The garden had been abandoned for a very long time, and was extremely overgrown. Most of it had been covered up by the long grass, but multicoloured flowers peaked out in many different places. There was a few rose bushes back here as well, and what caught Roman’s eye was the stone pathway going through the centre, a stone ring in the centre of that path. In the ring was a stone column, where the garden’s statue of King Creativity stood. The edge of the cliff, barley visible, was just beyond the garden. 

As Roman slowly approached the stone pathway, he felt lucky that there were no bugs in his part of the imagination. That didn’t stop him from feeling like they were crawling up his legs. Disgusting. 

He stepped out of the grass and onto stone again, and slowly began walking towards the cliff’s edge. 

“This is ridiculous, Roman. The spilt was so long ago— why are all these memories and feelings coming up now?” He asked himself, kicking a few loose pebbles. “You are Thomas’s creativity. The king hasn’t even been around since Thomas was a child. He has you now, and you are an improvement. You don’t have all of Remus’... ickiness. Thomas doesn’t need that. And even if he does, you could do the same thing Remus does if you truly wanted to.”

Roman chuckled at his own words, then hesitated for a moment. Could he do what Remus does? He had... he’s never exactly tried. It wasn’t in his nature. He wouldn’t want anything like Remus’ part of the imagination to be here. 

But, just to prove that he absolute could, Roman attempted to summon some bugs into this garden. He waved his hand and... harmless butterflies began to flutter around him, then disappeared into the air. He tried again, attempting to summon some rats. Squirrels appeared, and quickly scurried away. 

Roman tried one last time. He attempted to summon a monster, a large giant to destroy this stupid garden!.. but Roman was disappointed, as the sky around him began to shimmer, as a cloud of sparkles appeared in the air surrounding him. Roman stomped his foot in frustration. 

“That is not what I was trying to!— oh, never mind.” He huffed then walked a few steps forward, over to the edge of the cliff. He slowly peeked over the edge, to the shimmering lake below. He watched as tears from his face spilled down into this lake. 

In an attempt to get all of these stupid feelings out of him... Roman screamed. He stared over the cliff, screaming as loud as he could. He clenched his fists and leaned forward, letting his emotions out until his throat couldn’t taken anymore. 

The screaming didn’t seem to affect the world around Roman. No animals were disturbed like in the movies, and none of the sides were coming to check on him, to see if he was okay. He was angry, and hurting, and completely and utterly alone. 

Roman spun around to face the statue at the centre of the garden, a tall, stone sculpture of King Creativity, that seemed to be staring Roman down. 

Roman coughed, glaring up at the statue with hate in his eyes. “What? What are you looking at? Haven’t you take enough from me?!”

And that’s when Roman’s footing slipped, and he tumbled backwards off of the cliff, barley feeling a thing as his body hit the water.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus stopped what he was doing, squinting his eyes and putting a hand on his hip. He stepped closer to the lake, standing right on the edge of it. That’s when he noticed the soaking mop of brown hair, the white shirt, and bright red sash.

Remus crossed over into the light side of the Creativity. 

The border between the two worlds, Roman’s side and his own, was just a black line. A black line, stretching right down the centre of the imagination. It reminded Remus of a line of paint that two people in a sitcom would put down the centre of their room when they were fighting. It was exactly like that. 

Remus stepped into his brother’s half, the light immediately becoming brighter, and the colours much more soft and easy to look at. It wasn’t his style, but he couldn’t deny that it was very relaxing. Something Roman needed to do way more of. 

So, why was Remus here? The answer to that is kind of complicated. He actually came here a lot. He knew that Roman would absolutely go crazy if he knew that his brother was sneaking into his room all the time, so he kept it quiet. The place was huge, so he never ran into Roman. He got close once, but... that’s another story entirely. 

Remus didn’t tell anyone that he came here. Not even Dee, his best friend. It wasn’t his business, and Dee never asked about it anyway. 

Remus was in the middle of a thick forest. He made his way through it, he had made himself a small path long ago. Nothing Roman would notice, and it got him through the woods without having to hack his way through. Though, that did sound like a lot of fun. 

Eventually, the trees began to thin out as he got to the edge of the forest. From there he could see his destination; a steep cliff, with a castle on top of it, and a large waterfall. 

As Remus walked towards the cliff, he stayed near trees and bushes. Or, anything that could provide as cover. He wasn’t even going to risk being seen. Usually pretending to be a robber or a spy made this much more fun, but Remus was getting bored. 

He perked as he realized that... he still probably had some of his powers. His powers weakened when he was here, but he probably manage to summon a weird little buddy to entertain them on their way. 

Remus stopped against a tree, giggling and wiggling his fingers. Green mist appeared at his feet, swirling around before.. it disappeared. Remus frowned, dropping his hands and huffing. It was for the best. He may be chaotic, but he couldn’t deny that he would feel guilty for messing up his brother’s special world...

Remus continued, moving a bit faster this time. After what felt like hours, but was probably only a few minutes, he arrived at his destination. Rather than going straight to the castle, Remus went to the lake right below the cliff. He could barley see the castle anymore from where he was standing, and the deafening rush of the waterfall was music to his ears. He stood near the small lake at the base of the waterfall, taking a moment to stop and relax. Getting up to the castle was difficult; if he just went to the other side and walked up the hill, it would be very easy for someone to see him. So he liked the challenge of climbing up the cliff. He was getting pretty good at it. 

It wasn’t until Remus began to head over to the cliff that he noticed. There was something floating, right in the middle of the lake. He wasn’t sure how he could overlook something so unusual. At least, unusual for Roman’s part of the creativity. 

Remus stopped what he was doing, squinting his eyes and putting a hand on his hip. He stepped closer to the lake, standing right on the edge of it. That’s when he noticed the soaking mop of brown hair, the white shirt, and bright red sash.

When Remus realized that it was his brother floating in that lake, his heart stopped. His instincts immediately told him to run away before Roman saw him, to just turn around and go. But, he didn’t. He started moving closer to his brother, stepping into the lake now to try and get a better look at him. He was face down in the water; definitely not swimming or relaxing. Something happened to him. 

Remus began walking into the lake, a million thoughts running through his mind. What had happened? Did Roman drown? Did someone drown him? Did he hit his head? Was he injured? Bleeding? Was he up on the cliff? Did he fall off? Did he jump off? Did Roman try and kill himself? What the fuck?

As Remus has these thoughts, a few flowers in the clearing around the lake begin to wilt. 

He managed to swim over to his brother, grabbing him by the arms and tugging him back towards the shore. Neither of their outfits were made for swimming, so it was a struggle. But, Remus managed, laying his brother down in the grass and flipping him onto his stomach. 

Remus panted, exhausted from the struggle. Roman was way heavier than he remembered. Looking at him now, Remus could tell that his brother was alive, but he still wasn’t looking great. 

Unsure of what to do, he was kind of just waiting for Roman to wake up, but that got boring real fast. And he wasn’t a total monster, he wasn’t just gonna leave him out here in the woods... 

Remus sighed. The castle was the nearest building, and that’s where he was headed anyway. Plus, he knew for a fact that there was least one bed there (wink) for Roman to rest in. He might as well take Roman along for the ride. He lifted Roman up into his arms, and continued his trek towards the castle. At least he didn’t have to worry about being seen now. 

Remus was absolutely soaked as he walked. That sounds super uncomfortable, but Remus actually really enjoyed the gross, itchy feeling. 

Getting up the hill and to the castle was the difficult part, but Remus managed. Roman was still sound asleep. Now that Remus stood in front of the wooden doors, he felt nervous. He always felt nervous when he came here, but now even more so. What was Roman doing near here anyway? Remus didn’t think that anyone but himself came to this dirty old castle anymore. 

One of front doors were already open, so Remus slipper inside, pushing it open a bit more with his back. Without even thinking about it, Remus is carrying his brother to the nearest bedroom. He lied him down on the dusty blanket that hadn’t been touched in who knows how long, stepping back. 

Remus fidgeted with one of his sleeves, walking around the room. He sighed, stretching his arms around and cracking his joints. “I suppose I should summon myself some new clothes, should I?” He asked himself, hearing his boots squish whenever he took a step. He rolled his eyes, waving a hand over himself. His soaked clothes disappeared, and he was wearing a similar, much drier outfit. 

He attempted to summon new clothes onto Roman as well, but that didn’t work. He supposed that made sense, this world was Roman’s anyway. Instead he managed to summon a simple t-shirt and pants, laying them on the bed next to his brother. Roman could dry off and change when he woke up; Remus certainly wasn’t going to do that for him. He knew how his own mind worked, he wasn’t going to give Thomas any weird thoughts. Well, any more than usual. 

Waiting around for Roman got boring fast, so Remus left him alone to go and explore the castle. He loved seeing his old home again. 

Remus walked down a hallway, running his hands along the walls and stopping a few times to pick at chipped paint. Remus’ visits here certainly hadn’t been improving the condition of this place. 

Remus has never said this out loud to anyone but Deceit, but he missed Roman a lot. This castle always stirred up old memories. Not just of being King, but even after the split, when the twins were still friends. 

He tried not to think about this a lot. It just made him sad. But Remus was never the type to repress anything. 

Remus would never tell Roman the way that he felt, but that was fine. Things were fine the way they were, and Remus kind of liked the pain it caused him. Not in that way, perv. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Virgil jumped at the sound of glass smashing. 

The sound had come from the hallway. He got up out of his bed, opening his bedroom door. 

Patton was standing in the middle of the hallway, a couple of feet in front of Virgil. He wasn’t facing him, but there was a smashed plate of food and water glass at his feet. 

“Hey, Pat, do you need..” Virgil trailed off as he stepped forward, realizing what exactly the fatherly side was looking at. He was staring at Roman’s door. At least, where Roman’s door used to be. Now it was just a blank wall, no sign that anything other than the wall had been there. Virgil swallowed, and Patton turned around to face him. 

There were tears in Patton’s eyes, which he was trying to wipe away. “I-I was just bringing Roman up his dinner, and... I-I don’t know what happened!”

Logan rose up a few feet away from them, hearing the commotion from where he was downstairs. “Is everything alright?”

Virgil gestured to where Roman’s door was with both hands, then moved one hand up to mess with his hair. “Roman’s gone. We’ve got to go check on Thomas, guys.”

Logan stared at the now blank wall, eyes narrowed. Then he nodded “Yes, that would be our best option.”

“B-But, we have to go get him back!” Patton stepped back, frowning. 

“It seems that Roman has decided to duck out, Patton. Thomas is the only one that can take us into his room to find him.”

Patton slowly nodded, grabbing the other two by the arm. He took them with him when he sunk down, all popping up together in Patton’s corner of the living room. 

Virgil stumbled over and sat on the staircase, a little lightheaded from popping up with Patton and Logan. 

Thomas was on the couch, scrolling through his phone. When he noticed the sides, he jumped slightly, standing up. “Uhh... Patton, Logan, Virgil? What.. what’s up?”

Patton was the first to move closer to him, taking a deep breath and putting on a smile. “We need your help.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remus stood before King’s throne, eyeing the bundle of red roses on the floor in front of him. He had been standing here for a few minutes now, trying to think of what to say. What was there to say, really? 

“Hey, dude.” He said slowly, frowning and deciding to try again. “Hi. I.. I know I don’t talk to you much, but I just... ugh, this is dumb.” 

Remus sat down cross legged on the floor, leaning forward and resting his chin on his fist. “Sorry. I just thought... who better to spill your secrets to than some dead guy, right? Uh, okay, so... I love my friends. Deceit? He’s great. Hilarious guy. They’re.. great. But I do miss you. And Roman. I miss Roman a lot. I know I’m mean to Roman. I tease him whenever I see him, and I know exactly how to push his sensitive little buttons. But that’s what brothers do, right?” 

“I would love it if we could be close again, but I gave up on that happening ages ago. I keep my distance now, just watching him from afar. That keeps him happy, and us from fighting. I’ve accepted that, it’s not a big deal.”

“Even when we do talk, when we manage to have an actual normal-person conversation, it’s still so off. Things are so... distance. We’re so distant. And it’s so annoying, sometimes I just want to wring his stupid neck—“ Remus stopped himself, huffing. 

“I.. hate remembering how things used to be. But I think about it all the time. Birthdays, creating worlds and stories together, Halloween.” He smiled, thinking for a few seconds, but then his smile vanished. “But Roman doesn’t feel the same. I know he doesn’t. He doesn’t think about me anymore. He wouldn’t care if I—”

Remus froze, as he heard footsteps approaching from behind. 

“But, brother, that isn’t true.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thomas and the three sides accompanying him stood atop a large hill in the imagination, overlooking the beautiful landscape. Three were all mesmerized for a few seconds; it was rare the sides got to visit The Imagination; Thomas had never been here before. 

None of them were sure where to begin looking. Roman’s room was so different from the others’, it could take ages for them to figure out where Roman could be. 

The first thing that Thomas notices is the castle in the distance, squinting and gesturing to it. “What about that? Would he be there?”

Patton followed Thomas’ gaze, then stiffened. “Ah, no, that isn’t Roman’s castle.. I-I don’t think that he would be there. We should probably check Roman’s castle first.”

“But, I think..” Thomas frowned, his eyes still locked on the castle. “I think it’s worth checking out. Something about it.. we should go there.”

Virgil shifts, crossing his arms. “Nah, Thomas, I’m with Patton...”

Logan frowned, tilting his head. “If that is where Thomas is drawn towards, I feel it would be best to search The King’s castle first.”

Thomas and Logan didn’t notice the other two sides flinch at the mention of King, and Logan continued speaking before Thomas could ask any questions. 

“I think it would make a lot of sense for Roman to be there. He has tried to bring up the subject of... him, several times recently. Besides, this castle is much closer than Roman’s.”

And so, they headed to the King’s castle. Thomas felt the tension and didn’t ask any questions about what they had been talking about. There wasn't really any talking. Just.. worry. 

Thomas was the first to enter the castle. The other three hesitated behind him, watching him disappear through the cracked open door. 

But then they heard a loud gasp, and all jumped forward together, pushing open both of the wooden doors. 

Thomas stood, frozen a few feet in front of the door, the other three flanked behind him. 

While Thomas was simply confused by what he saw, Patton, Logan, and Virgil were all utterly shocked and filled with emotion as the figure standing a the top of the stairs turned around to face him. 

It was the King. 

He’s back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! Wrote most of this today, which is pretty impressive for me. Happy Halloween/Samhain/Friday!!

**Author's Note:**

> Whew! This was super fun to write, and I did most of it tonight, which is a lot for me haha.   
Happy Halloween/Samhain/Friday!


End file.
